School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls

"These rolls are JUST like the ones the cafeteria ladies make in the school lunch rooms! My 8 year old daughter loves the cafeteria rolls and said my recipe was even better! You can't mess these up! They are super easy and everyone will want the recipe! We eat the leftovers for breakfast or put cheese and turkey in warmed rolls for a quick lunch!"

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let it stand for about 10 minutes, until the yeast is foamy.

Mix the milk, eggs and salt into the yeast. Measure the flour into a separate bowl, add 2/3 cup sugar, and crumble the shortening into it using your fingers until it is barely noticeable. Gradually stir the flour into the wet ingredients. Mix using a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and starts to form a ball around the spoon. Cover with a hot wet towel that has been wrung out, and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk. This should take about 45 minutes.

When the dough has risen, pour the melted butter over it, and knead for about 2 minutes. Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1 inch thick. Use a knife to cut into 2 inch squares. Roll squares into balls, and place into greased round pans, spacing about 1 inch apart. Let rise again until doubled in size. You could also refrigerate the dough, and let it rise overnight for baking the next day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake the rolls for about 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Most Helpful Critical Review

Nov 30, 2005

I made the full recipe and while the dough rose beautifully and the rolls looked very good they had absolutely no taste whatsoever. I was really hoping for somthing a little better. I'll stick with the "best rolls ever" also found on this site. Thanks for sharing though.

I have been searching for the perfect roll recipe, this is it! Just follow the recipe and you can't go wrong. I could not believe how light this dough was and the rolls turned out GREAT. Thanks for the recipe.

Very easy. I followed the recipe to a "t". Very light and fluffy. Tasty with melted honey butter on them.Mix your honey and butter together. Pop into the micro for about 10 seconds. Pour over the rolls. Yum, Yum, Yum!!!

Wow! These were EXACTLY the rolls I remember from school. Thank you!!! I read the reviews before I made these and noticed many comments said they were bland, so I looked up typical salt-to-flour ratios for yeast breads, and the amount was off by 2 teaspoons, more if more flour is used while kneading. (Ratio is 1/2 teaspoon salt per 1 cup flour.) I didn't have shortening so I substituted butter for that, and since shortening is 100% fat and butter is 20% water (if you use typical butter--European butter has a higher fat content), I used a tablespoon more butter (so 5 tablespoons were used) for rubbing into the flour, and took away a tablespoon of water from the 3 cups. These were amazing!!! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!!!

These rolls were delicious - just what I was looking for. I served these right from the oven at dinner, and they were the best part of the meal. I made half a batch (about 24 rolls) and they were all gone the next day - the kids wanted to take them to school for lunch. Thanks for the recipe, MOMMY2THREEANGELS, I'll be making these again and again and probably during the holidays too. Update: I like to scale the recipe down to 15 servings and make the dough in my bread machine. I've replaced up to 1/3 of the flour with ww flour. I don't make these as often as my kids request because I usually eat too many (the big reason why I never make a full batch). Enjoy!

These were good and easy. I used 1/2 wheat flour and ended up not using all the dry/flour mixture, maybe a 1/2 cup or so was left. Oh and I didn't roll them out. It was just easier for me to pull chunks off and roll them into balls.

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.